The Tourism department's guidelines regulating shacks, haven’tmanaged to leave the confines of its offices. On the beaches, it’s anotherstory.
Even clean drinking water is not easily available in mostshacks, as this correspondent found out.
Most of the shack and other temporary structures in privateproperties depend on tube wells for portable and drinking water. Shockingly theshack owners dispose off waste water by channeling it into soak pitsconstructed very close to the tube wells. There are chances that the wastewater seeps into the wells thereby contaminating the water source.
“Most shack owners rely on tube wells for their waterrequirements. When it comes to disposal of waste water, the same is channeledinto soak pits constructed adjacent to the tube wells,” said Rajashri DivakarPagi, a councilor from Palolem.
Those who run shacks keep changing every year, as shacks areallotted on lottery basis.
“The new shack owners invariably drill a tube well on thesoak pit, which the previous shack owner had constructed. In this way groundwater contamination continues unabated,” informed Dayanand Pagi formerchairperson of CMC.
The shack owners have also failed to adhere to conditionspertaining to waste management and toilets.
Most of the toilets are constructed on cemented floors,which is against the government guidelines.
“Government guidelines do not allow cement/khadappafloors.Only natural materials should be used, so that once the season is over theplace should be restored to its original state,”said CMC supervisor, D Kanaya.
According to government guidelines beach shacks are requiredto provide chemical mobile toilets. But not a single mobile toilet is visiblealong the Palolem beach. It appears most of the toilets in shacks on thebeaches discharge waste directly into the sand.
Most of these violations could result in cancellation oflicenses. But surprisingly authorities hesitate to take action against theviolators, due to political pressure, informed environmentalist Bhanudas NaikGaonkar.
